Gordon Strachan fought back tears as he revealed that his friendship with Tommy Burns had been the highlight of his spell as Celtic manager. Burns died aged 51 at about 4am this morning after losing his battle with cancer. He left wife Rosemary and four children.

Strachan revealed how Burns, who spent 25 years at Parkhead as player, manager and coach, had kept him sane amid the trials of managing one half of the Old Firm. The pair had been fierce midfield rivals during the 1980s but Strachan, who played for Aberdeen, discovered Burns was a "world champion" among men when they became colleagues in 2005.

Wiping tears from his eyes in the Celtic Park boardroom, Strachan said: "No disrespect to football, but being Tommy's mate is the best part of coming to Celtic. People will be judged, not as a footballer - and there weren't many better than him - but as a person. He's top of the league when it comes to being a man.

"Even yesterday when I was with him, his faith is incredible. All he was interested in was making sure Rosemary and the kids and I were all right. He wasn't thinking about himself."

Kenny Dalglish brought his former Celtic team-mate back to the club in 2000 following spells at Newcastle and Reading, and Martin O'Neill soon came in to appoint Burns as youth development manager. But Strachan returned him to first-team level.

"The most important thing I did when I came here was make Tommy assistant manager," Strachan said. "Through his intelligence, common sense and humour, he made me understand what Glasgow was all about. If I didn't have him I would have gone off my head. He kept me sane at times.

"He has been part of my life every day for three years. That's why I am taking it rather hard at the moment. He radiated - every time he walked into a room, no matter how you were feeling, you felt better when Tommy was about. We've missed him about the place because it's not the same when he's not there."

Burns beat skin cancer two years ago but Celtic announced in March that he was undergoing treatment again. Strachan revealed the former Kilmarnock manager never lost his lauded sense of humour.

"Typical Tommy, we still managed to have a laugh yesterday, 14-15 hours before his death," said Strachan. "I said, 'Thirty years ago, if the Celtic and Aberdeen fans could see us now, they wouldn't believe us, me and you having a hug on your bed in the afternoon'.

"It can change from kicking lumps out of each other until me here now missing somebody as badly as I have ever missed anybody."

Strachan, who was once set upon by a Celtic fan during a game at Parkhead, added: "When I got attacked on the pitch, he said, 'I knew you were slow, but I didn't know you were that slow'. I have laughed every day since I joined Celtic. He made me feel good when he was alive and his memory will make me feel good. He liked people to enjoy themselves.

"The only time he got a bit tetchy was when anyone joined in when he was singing Mack The Knife. You weren't meant to join in - that was his song. He was a very good singer."

Hundreds of Celtic fans gathered outside Parkhead today to pay tribute to Burns, who was born and brought up about in Calton, about a mile from the stadium. Rangers fans on their way back from the Uefa Cup final in Manchester also stopped by to pay their respects, to applause from their rival fans.

Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, said Burns transcended the divide in Glasgow and that Celtic had lost one of this club's favourite sons. "He was a wonderful human being," Lawwell said. "In life I think you only really meet several special, special people and Tommy Burns was certainly that.

"His football style, as a Celtic man - his standards, values, integrity, his humour - made him that special person. He really loved Celtic, he loved the Celtic support and the Celtic support loved him. Tommy will go down in history as a Celtic legend amongst many, many great legends Celtic have."

Lawwell revealed Burns had been working to ensure the youth structure was functioning properly until the final weeks of his life. "I spoke to him last Monday and again it was business," Lawwell said. "His energy, his drive, and his passion for this club was remarkable."

That passion will have a lasting impact at Celtic, who moved into their new training centre in Lennoxtown earlier this season. "Tommy leaves us the legacy of the youth academy - Stephen McManus, Darren O'Dea, Aiden McGeady, Paul Caddis," Lawwell said. "He had a big input in Lennoxtown. He campaigned for 10 years for it and gave me a hell of a row when he saw the size of the indoor pitch. He wanted a full-size pitch and I never told him until we opened the door.

"He was a big inspiration. I remember taking him up to Lennoxtown and it was a derelict site. It needed a lot of imagination at that stage. I don't think he believed us because he had a number of disappointments - but we delivered it for him."